Windows 8 editions
, a major release of the Microsoft Windows operating system, was available in four different editions: Windows 8, Pro, Enterprise, and RT. Only Windows 8 and Pro were widely available at retailers. The other editions focus on other markets, such as embedded systems or enterprise. All editions support 32-bit IA-32 CPUs and x64 CPUs.
Editions
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Unlike Windows Vista and Windows 7, there are no Home Basic, Home Premium, or Ultimate editions.
Regional restrictions and variations
All mentioned editions have the ability to use language packs, enabling multiple user interface languages. However, in China and other emerging markets, a variation of Windows 8 without this capability, called Windows 8 Single Language, is sold. This edition can be upgraded to Windows 8 Pro. Furthermore, like in Windows Phone 7 and Windows Phone 8, OEMs who preload Windows 8 can choose not to support certain display languages either out of the box or make them available for download. These exact choices depend on the device manufacturer and country/region of purchase. For example, a cellular-connected Samsung ATIV Smart PC running Windows 8 on AT&T only supports English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Korean.Additional Windows 8 editions specially destined for European markets have the letter "N" suffixed to their names and do not include a bundled copy of Windows Media Player. Microsoft was required to create the "N" editions of Windows after the European Commission ruled in 2004 that it needed to provide a copy of Windows without Windows Media Player tied in.
Windows 8.1 with Bing is a reduced-cost SKU of Windows 8.1 for OEMs that was introduced in May 2014. It was introduced as part of an effort to encourage the production of low-cost devices, whilst "driving end-user usage of Microsoft Services such as Bing and OneDrive". It is subsidized by Microsoft's Bing search engine, which is set as the default within Internet Explorer, and cannot be changed to a third-party alternative by the OEM. This restriction does not apply to end-users, who can still change the default search engine freely after installation. It is otherwise identical to the base edition.
Editions for embedded systems
; : Windows Embedded 8 Standard is a componentized edition of Windows 8 for use in specialized devices. It was released on 20 March 2013. Notable for being the only edition of Windows 8 to not get an update to 8.1. It reached the end of mainstream support on July 10, 2018, and reached the end of extended support on July 11, 2023.; : Windows Embedded 8 Industry is an edition of Windows 8 for use in industrial devices. It was released on 2 April 2013 and is available in Pro, Pro Retail, and Enterprise editions.
; : Includes Windows Embedded 8 Pro and Windows Embedded 8 Enterprise editions, which are binary identical to their respective non-embedded editions, differing only in licensing.
These are the final editions of Windows to use the "Windows Embedded" branding. Starting with the release of Windows 10, Microsoft switched to the use of "Windows IoT" branding.
Upgrade compatibility
The following in-place upgrade paths are supported from Windows 7. It is only possible to upgrade from an IA-32 variant of Windows 7 to an IA-32 variant of Windows 8; an x64 variant of Windows 7 can only be upgraded to an x64 variant of Windows 8. The retail package entitled Windows 8 Pro Upgrade was restricted to upgrading a computer with licensed Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista or Windows 7. Finally, there is no upgrade path for Windows RT.In-upgrade is not available for Windows Vista and Windows XP. However, on Windows XP SP3 and Windows Vista RTM, it is possible to perform a clean install while preserving personal files. On Windows Vista SP1, it is possible to perform a clean install but save system settings as well. While Microsoft still refers to the scenarios as "upgrade", the user still need to reinstall all apps, carry out necessary license activation steps and reinstate app settings.